Final answer:
Major de Spain is a wealthy landowner who participates in the system of sharecropping, and he is complicit in the events of the story by enforcing his authority over the protagonist's father.
Step-by-step explanation:
Major de Spain plays a significant role in the story of 'Barn Burning' as a wealthy landowner and the employer of Abner Snopes, the protagonist's father. The system of sharecropping, prevalent in the South during that time, allowed landowners like Major de Spain to rent out portions of their land to tenant farmers, who would pay a portion of their crop as rent. Major de Spain could be considered complicit in the events of the story because he enforces his authority over Abner Snopes, leading to the conflict between them.